desktop support through remote support/media/hdicorp/files/research... · 2016-06-06 · remote...
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1 | HDI Research Corner: Desktop Support Edition, June 2013
Written by Mike Hanson, Senior IT Manager, UnitedHealth Group, Inc.Data analysis by Jenny Rains, Senior Research Analyst, HDI
What would a business do without its technology support professionals? As business technology has become more and more
pervasive and necessary, the methods for supporting that complex environment have changed and evolved. In the early days of
desktop computing, help likely came not from a dedicated support team but from someone who was fascinated by technology and
had educated himself (or herself) on the machine’s basic functionality.
Later, as the desktop computer evolved, there may have been a few dedicated IT staff tasked with taking care of them; these folks
were usually very technical and very familiar with the inner workings of the hardware, but not very customer-focused. They were more
comfortable flipping DIPP switches and using jumpers to get things to work properly. When software became the primary focus of
computing, these same technicians developed knowledge bases to explain how drivers and software interacted with the hardware.
autoexec.bat, config.sys—they spoke a mysterious language that baffled the average user.
Eventually, desktop computers and laptops were everywhere. Support teams continued to grow and nearly every office had a
dedicated desktop support technician (large offices often had quite a few). The more technology-driven the business became, the
more desktop support was necessary to keep the business running.
Today we’re seeing another evolution of the desktop support model. Not so very long ago, desktop support was defined by the ability
to physically touch a device; however, more and more businesses have discovered that similar support can be provided via a virtual
visit using remote support tools. As these tools become more complex, the physical visit is becoming thing of the past. Each year, we
ask HDI Desktop Support Practices & Salary Survey respondents to rank the “must-have” technologies for desktop support. For the past
two years, remote support tools have topped the list, surpassing even incident management tools.
Desktop Support Through Remote Support
J U N E 2 0 1 3
D E S K T O P S u P P O R T E D i T i O n
Top Five Must-Have Technologies Required to Provide Successful End-User Desktop Support
Percentage who selected each technology
Remote control/shadow tools
Incident management system
Knowledge management system
Alerts/monitoring tools
Systems management tools (e.g., SCCM)
78.0%
201320122011
76.6%
53.2%
45.3%
43.0%
81.0%
83.4%
52.0%
45.0%
43.5%
79.4%
77.7%
56.6%
41.7%
40.5%
2 | HDI Research Corner: Desktop Support Edition, June 2013
Driving Factors
Why has the remote support model become so common? A key reason is the globalization of business. Teams are now distributed
across the country and around the world, and remote support tools give support anywhere, anytime access to those teams. Over
the past two years, more than 60 percent of survey respondents have indicated that they’re not located on site, and, of those, more
than half are in multiple sites and countries. This doesn’t mean the remaining 40 percent aren’t using a remote support model. Remote
support also works for centralized support, where the most of the desktop support technicians are localized but they use remote
support tools to accomplish their support duties.
A fluid technology landscape has also encouraged the use of remote support tools. By allowing support professionals to use a single
device to assist customers on a variety of platforms, someone using a Windows PC can provide support not only to other Windows
clients but also to most of the current flavors of OSX and the various Linux distributions. Many of these tools feature support functionality
for mobile devices as well, so tablets and smartphones are not out of reach.
These efficiencies ultimately translate into direct cost savings. By placing their support technicians in less costly areas, the business can
save on real estate. By having anywhere, anytime support capabilities, the business can position support teams in multiple time zones
and extend the amount of time support is available. Finally, by having technicians who can respond to and resolve incidents more
quickly, the business benefits from faster service.
Location of the Desktop Support Team
38%
39% 9%
15%
Single site/ single country(not on site)
Multicountry
On site only
Multiple sites/ single country
Percentage of desktop support teams
3 | HDI Research Corner: Desktop Support Edition, June 2013
The State of the Industry
The 2013 HDI Desktop Support Practices & Salary Report surveyed nearly 1,000 organizations, and a recurring theme was the use of
remote support tools. The survey crosses a wide variety of industries, from education to finance to healthcare, and all of them use
remote support in some fashion. As previously mentioned, this is actually a multiyear trend, with these types of tools repeatedly being
singled out as the most important tools used by desktop support professionals, even over incident management systems.
In general, these tools are owned and run in house, with 83.5 percent being run on local servers. The remainder is run via managed
services, in Internet-based environments, or through other means. The majority of businesses (37.2%) license these tools using some
sort of subscription service, which makes a great deal of sense because subscription-based service allows for regular updates and
ensures that the latest version of the tools is always available. This kind of support is critical because technology changes quickly and
new products and operating systems are released at a rapid pace. The next most common licensing approach (20.5%) is a direct
purchase with maintenance. Similar to the subscription approach, direct-purchasing maintenance ensures that the tool will be kept up
to date, at least within the current version of the software being used. Only 16.1 percent purchase a basic license with no maintenance.
The data and trends for location and licensing have been consistent since 2011.
Remote support tools have become pervasive across all support teams. In 2013, survey respondents reported that the first time a
customer might encounter remote support would be at the service desk. In 2011, 71.7 percent of service desks were using remote
support tools; in 2013, that percentage increased to 82.3 percent. Allowing service desk analysts to use remote support tools increases
the likelihood of first call resolution, because the analyst can actually see what the customer is seeing. The use of the these tools by the
service desk also aids desktop support, because even if support center analysts can’t resolve issues directly, being able to see those
issues with their own eyes enables them to accurately describe issues and route them to the appropriate area of desktop support for
further investigation.
Licensing Model(s) Used by Desktop Support Teams for Remote Control/Shadowing Tools
Subscription, renewed on a schedule
2011 2012 2013
37.2%39.1%
One-time purchase for life, includes
maintenance
2011 2013
20.5%
2012
26.9% 21.5%
One-time purchase for life,
maintenance not included
2013
16.1%
2011
15.7%
2012
14.3%
Percentage of organizations
35.1%
4 | HDI Research Corner: Desktop Support Edition, June 2013
Even if the analyst can’t reach the customer’s desktop via the remote support tool, that’s good information because it means the incident
can be routed to a desktop support technician who knows she’ll probably need to make a physical visit to the customer’s desk.
Desktop support has seen an increase in remote support as well. In 2011, the survey found that 75.8 percent of desktop support teams
were using remote support tools; in 2013, that percentage increased to 80.2 percent. This is very similar to the data for the service desk,
and for many of the same reasons. Remote support transforms desktop support from an organization tasked with making physical visits
to its customers into a diverse second- or third-level support team that combines virtual support with deskside visits. When desktop
support technicians can quickly and efficiently take control of a customer’s device, and even use enhanced administrative privileges
for troubleshooting, first contact resolution rates go up.
Because so much second-level support can be done remotely, it has opened up the possibility of telecommuting for desktop support
staff. While most organizations still require desktop support to be on site, some are beginning to recognize the advantages of using
remote support tools to provide distributed support. When asked if desktop technicians are allowed to work from home at least
part-time, nearly 22 percent of the respondents said yes, with another 8 percent saying that their organizations were considering
implementing it within the year. As the business begins to rely less upon locally managed desktops and laptops, there will be less need
for desktop support teams to be tied to specific locations.
The data shows that these tools are critical in the support of virtual environments. Of the businesses that utilize virtual applications,
desktops, or servers, 94 percent indicate that they rely upon remote support tools. This makes sense, as these types of environments
can be hosted anywhere and nearly all interaction is via a networked connection. The use of the same tools regardless of whether the
client is local or virtual sends a clear message to the customer that the technical support teams are consistent and dependable.
This approach can be very successful, and the growing popularity of this approach is clearly indicated in the survey results. In 2012,
65.9 percent of organizations indicated that they were resolving at least half of their desktop support tickets using remote support
tools; in 2013, that percentage decreased to 61.5 percent. However, the number of organizations resolving more than half to all of their
desktop support tickets using remote support tools increased to 38.5 percent! Another indication of the efficacy of remote support is
reflected in the customer satisfaction metric. Of the organizations that use remote support tools, 95–97 percent have customers that
are either satisfied or very satisfied with their support teams.
Who Provides Remote Support?
201120122013
82.3%
80.2%
9.6%
3.7%
82.6%
80.7%
10.2%
4.2%
71.7%
75.8%
11.6%
5.9%
Support center staff
Desktop support staff
Other
None
Percentage of organizations
Remote Support
Amount of Desktop Support Resolved Remotely
Clearly, remote support tools are an effective means of resolving tickets. In fact, it’s become so common that the percentage of tickets
resolved remotely has become a standard metric, with 33 percent of organizations tracking and reporting this metric.
Of the organizations that reported a decrease in desktop support tickets in 2013, more than 37 percent indicated that the use of remote support tools was a significant factor.
Recommendations
There are many compelling reasons to use remote support tools. Support teams can be located anywhere, which gives the business
flexibility in hiring. By strategically locating desktop support technicians in multiple time zones, the business can expand its hours of
operation; in fact, some companies have been able to offer 24×7 support simply by placing support staff in key locations around the
globe. Remote support tools can transform a desktop support team that once had to be physically present to do its job into a true
second- or third-level support team that can resolve critical issues quickly, without ever leaving their desks.
Should remote support tools be part of a desktop support tool kit? Absolutely! Any organization can use remote support tools,
regardless of size, industry, or technologies supported. In fact, the greater diversity of technologies your organization supports, the
more likely it will be to benefit from using report support tools.
Includes only those organizations that provide remote support.
Percentage of organizations
1–25%
25–50%
51–75%
76–99%
100%
Tickets33.4%
28.1%
23.7%
12.8%
2.0%2013
35.4%
30.5%
22.1%
10.6%
1.4%2012
5 | HDI Research Corner: Desktop Support Edition, June 2013
6 | HDI Research Corner: Desktop Support Edition, June 2013
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Copyright © 2013 UBM LLC. All rights reserved.
Tools Most Frequently Used to Provide Remote Support
29.8%
28.6%
19.8%
19.6%
17.8%
12.7%
12.4%
10.2%
9.1%
8.7%
8.6%
7.9%
Bomgar
Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection/RDC (Microsoft)
Windows Remote Assistance (Microsoft)
VNC (RealVNC)
SCCM (Microsoft)
LogMeIn
Mini Remote Control (Dameware)
GoToAssist (Citrix)
Apple Remote Desktop (ARD)
TeamViewer
Webex (Cisco)
Altiris (Symantec)
Percentage of organizations using each tool
There are many remote support tools on the market; take the time to investigate which one would work best in your environment. The list below includes the most popular tools used by the organizations that responded to the 2013 HDI Desktop Support Practices & Salary Survey.